


storm clouds rising

by stardating



Series: when going through a storm [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: ADHD, Adopted Peter Parker, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Bullying, Education, Fighting, Learning Disabilities, M/M, Minor Violence, School, Slow Burn, Teacher Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, single parent tony stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25716889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardating/pseuds/stardating
Summary: Bullies are tough to deal with. There is no other way to go about it. Peter does the best he can and so do the people around him, much to his surprise.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: when going through a storm [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1838563
Comments: 8
Kudos: 105





	storm clouds rising

**Author's Note:**

> Here is another installment of this verse, which I really need to find a name for! I hope you guys like it. I have made sure to add tags to reflect the content that is in here, so please be sure to read them again!

“Mr. Thompson!”

Everyone in the classroom jumped. Mrs. Elison was not the kind of person who raised her voice often. When she needed to get the class’s attention, she tended to do something like a clapping pattern or flicking the lights. She also had a few sounds on her phone if those did not work. Even when she _did_ raise her voice, it was _never_ in anger.

Flash swallowed. “Y-Yes?”

“You. Me. Hallway. Now. MJ, please keep an eye on the class. We shouldn’t be more than a few minutes. I expect all of you to continue your assignments as you were.”

So caught off guard, Flash stumbled out into the hallway with Mrs. Elison.

The rest of the class remained silent.

Science was one of the classes Peter unfortunately shared with Flash. He was at least seated a few rows away from Peter and in a different lab group. It wasn’t as bad as gym where the higher student-teacher ratio created the perfect environment for students to get away with anything from throwing balls at someone’s head or gossiping when they were supposed to be running laps.

Today, there were a few kids absent, which meant lab groups had to be shuffled around, and Flash ended up in his. He had hoped that MJ’s proximity alone would deter Flash from bullying him, but … apparently Flash was braver than him or Ned. He bumped into him, rolled his pens off of the table, and almost spilled a beaker of water on his notebook. Peter shrugged it all off, more concerned with getting his observations written down than whatever Flash said or did.

He probably should have been more concerned with the potential for spilling the chemicals or getting caught up in some ‘horseplay’ and having his lab privileges taken away, but—

“What just happened?” Ned whispered, his voice like an echo.

“Mrs. Elison just put her foot down,” MJ said, looking back to the chemicals they were supposed to be observing. One of them was starting to turn a different color ever so slowly.

Peter gaped. “S-She what? But Flash calls me stuff like that all the time!”

Really, calling someone ‘penis’ instead of their name was on the less creative end of the insult spectrum. Flash had yet to even use sarcasm or proper puns.

“But he never did it in this class before, now did he?” MJ asked. She had a pleased look on her face and Peter knew she was going to draw everyone’s shocked expressions later.

But, come to think of it, no. Flash had not bothered him too much in this class before. He had no idea why … Maybe it was because the opportunity finally presented itself? Some kids joked that Mrs. Elison had eyes in the back of her head, but it was probably because she had been an elementary school teacher for a few years before moving up to middle school. With thirty younger kids running around with less self-control, a teacher had to be more observant. No one could get away with _anything_.

“Maybe something is finally going to be done about him,” Ned said with hope. “I mean, I heard Mr. Rogers spoke to Flash and his parents, but nothing came of that. They threatened to bring in lawyers!”

Peter winced, remembering how his dad threatened to bring in their lawyers and probably would have sent weeks ago if Peter didn’t beg him not to.

As promised, Mrs. Elison returned to the classroom a few minutes later, but Flash was nowhere to be seen.

“Mr. Parker? If I could talk with you for a moment?”

Peter felt a tidal wave of dread come over him. She wasn’t going to have them talk about this right now, was she? She wasn’t going to have Flash apologize to him, right? It would be completely insincere! It would just make things even worse! The moment she turned her back or when there weren’t any adults around, Flash would totally retaliate!

Mutely he stood up and headed over to her. She led him outside of the classroom where the hallway was blissfully silent and slightly warmer. Flash wasn’t there either.

“I sent him to the principal’s office,” Mrs. Elison explained, as if she could read his mind. “I just wanted to check in with you. You okay?”

“Uh. Yeah. What he said wasn’t a big deal.”

Mrs. Elison frowned. “I beg to disagree. What he called you was very inappropriate and I want to assure you that I do not tolerate that behavior in my classroom. I am not sure what can be done right now, but if he continues to harass you at any time, I want you to let me know, okay? We can figure something out like changing his schedule or teachers.”

“Not me?” Peter asked. “That’s what had been done before.”

She raised an eyebrow. “After you finally got settled into a new routine and are showing improvement with you accommodations? No way. You don’t deserve that. Besides, having Flash change a class or two so you don’t run into one another as often will show him that his behavior will not be tolerated _way_ more than a stern talking to or detention ever will.”

Peter felt his face flush. When she put it like that, yeah, it sounded reasonable. Logical even.

“Oh. Okay.”

“Ready to head back in? Or do you want a breather out here?”

Peter bit his lip. “Breather?”

She smiled at him. “Okay. Take all the time you need. You’re a good kid, Peter. Don’t let anything Flash—or anyone else bullying you—get you down.”

When the classroom door closed, Peter pressed himself up against the hallway wall, avoiding a heavily decorated bulletin board.

He felt like he was having a panic attack.

Well, he probably was. Maybe not. Anxiety attack?

Yeah, that seemed to fit better.

Peter knew he was an easy target for students with a perchance for picking on others. He was short, scrawny, didn’t do well with physical activities, and tended to be more emotional than other boys his age. Not that there was anything wrong with that—he was fully aware what toxic masculinity was and he did not want anything to do with it. He would happily remain ‘scrawny’ and ‘weak’ if it meant that he wasn’t going around hurting people.

But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when no one stood up for him.

When teachers turned a blind eye. When ‘friends’ said to suck it up.

When the bullying only got worse, no matter what he did.

Taking in a deep breath, Peter held it in for a few seconds, and then let it out slowly. He remembered what therapy had taught him about anxiety so far: how it was the nervous system reacting to fight and flight responses, to stressors. How sometimes the brain latched onto something and wouldn’t let it go because of a flood of neurochemicals. It would take him consciously focusing on something else or working with his body to calm it down. His ADHD did similar things, preventing him from focusing on something he wasn’t looking forward to or preventing him from taking a break or not obsessing about something else.

But ultimately, he would be alright.

A teacher just sent a bully to the principal’s office, no big deal. That’s what they were supposed to do. Problems like that were supposed to be addressed.

He would probably be called in sooner or later. They would need his side of the story to collaborate with Mrs. Elison’s report, right? But what if Flash twisted it around or threatened the family lawyers again? What if—

“Peter?”

Ned’s voice snapped Peter out of his mental spiral.

“Dude, let’s get you some water,” Ned said gently. “Mrs. Elison told me to come check on you.”

“How—how long has it been?” Peter asked.

“About ten minutes. She was getting a little worried but didn’t want to disrupt class again or make you feel uncomfortable.”

Peter nodded. “Okay. Water will help.”

Ned walked with him to the water fountain. “Wanna hear about the chemicals? Some of them were so cool!”

“Sure.”

Ned happily described some of the chemical changes, like the one where water was turned into ‘gold’ and another where a blue liquid was turned into an amber color one. They had written down the chemical equations, along with their observations, for him to copy later.

“She promised that we would get to do an outdoor experiment with driftwood later this week,” he added. “So that will be something to look forward to.”

Pulling up from the water fountain, Peter wiped his mouth. Listening to Ned talk and focusing on the coolness of the water helped. “Yeah, we’re probably going to be burning it and identifying the mineral salts that are making the colors. Maybe something with energy states.”

“That’s a thing?” Ned exclaimed. “Cool!”

Peter laughed, Ned’s excitement infectious. “Yeah, it will be.”

“Ready to head back?” Ned asked.

He nodded.

Yeah. He was okay now.

* * *

Tony was frothing at the mouth.

He could not believe this had happened!

Schools were supposed to be safe places for kids! Sure, there would be arguments and bullying was to be expected, and he could not imagine that every kid out there was a perfect angel who would never get into a fight, but this was different!

This was _his_ kid and apparently some other kid decided to beat him up!

What good were the counselors and paraprofessionals and administrators and detention officers or hell, _actual police officers_ if they couldn’t prevent kids from knowing what it was like to be harassed or belittled or beaten up or ostracized? What happened to creating the maybe _only_ environment where kids would be safe and accepted and have some actual stability and support, no matter how they were different?

Tony knew that Peter could take care of himself and that he had a good head on his shoulders, but damn, it was like he had a martyr complex or something. He didn’t want to cause trouble or make a fuss or bother anyone. Why didn’t Tony insist upon seeing this kid sooner? Why didn’t he insist on sending the lawyers to the kid’s house? This could have been prevented!

Peter knew that if he ever needed help, he could call Tony. It didn’t matter where he was or what happened, he would come for him. He would do whatever it took to make things okay again. But then it circled back to the fact that Peter wouldn’t. He would duck his head, avoid someone in the hallways, and insist he was fine. He would try to ignore the problem until it went away or would figure out some ingenious, clever solution.

But bullies didn’t work like malfunctioning hard drives.

When Tony got the call, he didn’t bother Happy. He drove himself.

“Where is my son?” he demanded as he burst into the front office.

“You’re Peter’s father?” someone else exclaimed, jumping up from one of the chairs that lined a wall. “I should have known!”

Tony sneered. Where had this man been the last two years? Every tabloid and some news outlets reported the whole process it took Tony to adopt Peter. That he was his father should not have been a question.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know who you are.”

The man sputtered, as if _that_ was a shock to his world.

“I’m—”

“Mr. Stark, Mr. Thompson, please sit down,” the secretary begged. “The principal will be here in a few minutes.”

Tony gave this ‘Mr. Thompson’ a stink eye and mentally declared him an enemy right on the spot. He wasn’t sure what kind of parental figure he was, but if he produced a child such as ‘Flash’, he couldn’t have been a very good one. Sure, he might be easily lumped in the ‘bad parent’ category too, but at least he knew Peter was an exception to the ‘an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ rule. Peter would be so much better in spite of anything Tony did.

The door leading further into the school opened.

Mr. Rogers, looking not very put together, came in.

“What happened?” Tony asked.

“Just needed to take care of my class before coming down,” Mr. Rogers explained as he sat down next to him. “But we’ll get everything sorted out once the principal gets here.”

Tony knew then that whatever happened, Mr. Rogers was in the thick of it, or at least a witness.

He was relieved that there would be one more adult on Peter’s side.

* * *

“Gentlemen?” the principal said politely, coming out of their office. “If you would follow me back here please? Your children are back here as well.”

Mr. Rogers indicated for him and Mr. Thompson to go first, so Tony quickly stood up. He didn’t trust whatever little punk was back there with his child, even if there was an adult watching them. He wanted to reach Peter first, before anyone could say or do anything more. It took only a few seconds for him to see Peter sitting next to a blonde kid. Peter looked utterly remorse while the other kid had an air of being annoyed around him.

“Dad!”

Peter jumped out of his seat and Tony rushed over, hugging him tightly.

“Hey, kiddo, what happened? Are you okay?”

When Peter didn’t answer right away, Tony pulled back to look at him. Peter’s lip was wobbling and he saw it was still swollen. His cheek was bruised as well. He imagined that Peter had some other bruises and scrapes under his jacket and jeans.

“I-I’m fine. I didn’t mean to—I mean—”

“Hey, hey, we’re going to talk about this,” Tony said. “All parties. We’re gonna get the whole story, so don’t apologize yet, okay?”

“If you would come into my office?” the principal asked, opening a door.

Tony nodded and guided Peter in, soon followed by Mr. Thompson and the other kid, and finally by Mr. Rogers, who then closed the door.

The office was brightly lit with a window, decorated with degrees and certifications, pictures of students and school events, and other such souvenirs. The principal sat behind their desk, looking a bit tense and stressed. Tony motioned for Peter to sit down in one of the chairs available, while Flash almost stomped over and flopped into the seat. He wanted to hold back any judgements, but man, it looked like the kid was just mildly inconvenienced, rather than in serious trouble.

“Before we begin, I would like to state that I want to stick to the facts and see if we can find a resolution, rather than dish out punishments.”

Tony nodded.

“So, Mr. Parker, can you describe to me what happened?”

Peter shifted in his seat. “Flash started picking a fight with me in the hallway after science class,” he began. He went on to explain how he tried to ignore Flash and get to his locker, but Flash kept hounding him, angered by the earlier exchange with Mrs. Elison and visit to the principal’s office. It was when Flash knocked some of his books out of Peter’s arms that it got worse, because then he also shoved Peter into said locker.

“Is this accurate so far?” the principal asked Flash.

Flash was slouching in his seat, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, looking away.

“Yeah.”

“And then he took one of my books,” Peter mumbled, wringing his hands. “Then he tore some pages out of it.”

“And that’s when he jumped me!” Flash burst out. “He totally went ballistic!”

Tony looked at Flash, who didn’t seem to have a scratch on him. Uh-huh. Sure.

The kid was _so_ a perfect angel who had never done anything wrong.

“No, I didn’t!” Peter protested. “I tried to get my book back, but Flash held it over my head! I tripped and fell onto him! That’s when he punched me!”

“I can confirm that,” Mr. Rogers added, stepping forward. “I heard the commotion from inside my classroom and came out to see what was going on. The two of them were on the floor and various books were scattered. Peter was on top of Flash momentarily, but I only saw Flash punch Peter. I did not see any actions prior to that. I then went over and separated them. Flash resisted quite a bit, which is why I called Mr. Thompson later on.”

The principal looked over to Mr. Thompson, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

Tony noticed how Mr. Rogers still looked disheveled, like the altercation lasted much longer than it should have. He wondered how much this ‘Flash’ kid struggled to keep fighting, because Peter didn’t have a mean bone in his body and he _hated_ confrontation.

“I was called by Mr. Rogers about Eugene and another student getting into an altercation,” Mr. Thompson confirmed. “I was not given any details, but was told that we would meet with the principal.”

“Peter, it was just a book,” Tony said quietly. “It wasn’t worth all this trouble.”

“But it was the one _you_ gave me.”

Tony’s jaw dropped. “Oh—kiddo. I’m sorry.”

He wanted to hug Peter and bundle him up in a blanket and feed him chocolate forever. He had been through so much. Why did the universe keep knocking him down?

“I take it this book was important to Peter?” the principal asked. Tony really needed to learn their name, it was only polite. But right now, he just wanted to comfort Peter.

Screw Flash and figuring out a resolution between the students or anything else. The kid was old enough to know that such behavior was stupid and wrong. Sure, he needed to be held accountable for his actions and behaviors, but Peter could be kept out of it and away from him as much as possible. Tony didn’t want him _near_ his son _ever again_.

Tony nodded. “Yeah. I gave it to him while he was still in the system. It was the first thing I ever gave him and it became really important. I wrote him a note in the front cover.”

The principal nodded gravely. “I see. Mr. Thompson, what do you have to say about this?”

“I-It was just a book!” Flash exclaimed. “It’s not like his dad can’t buy him another one!”

The principal gave him a flat look. “That is not the point, Mr. Thompson. Destruction and theft of property goes against our school policies. Where is the book now?”

“It is being repaired by the librarians,” Mr. Rogers said. “I was able to locate it in the hallway after the fight was broken up and they were brought to the front office.”

The principal nodded. “I see. Well, now that we know what happened, we have some other matters to discuss …”

* * *

In the end, Flash got suspended and his schedule was changed so he and Peter would have a slim chance of interacting, if at all. It was also recommended that he would see the school counselor to find the root of his bullying behaviors and develop better intrapersonal skills beyond intimidation. Mr. Thompson was also furious to learn that Flash frequently threatened others with their lawyers to keep himself out of trouble or get what he wanted.

“They are _not_ your personal tools,” Mr. Thompson hissed. “They are professionals and are for your mother’s _corporation_ , not incidents you caused by making poor decisions! If you actually brought any of this to them, they would tell you to settle, because who in their right mind would sue a teacher for actually _doing their job_? You are lucky that Stark is not suing us for personal damages or whatever else his lawyers might come up with!”

Tony was impressed with Mr. Thompson’s reaction and Peter looked surprised too.

“Everyone thought his parents knew?” Tony whispered.

“Yeah,” Peter whispered back.

“I would like to apologize for my son’s behaviors,” Mr. Thompson said as they made to part ways. “I know he can be brash and spoiled, but I was not aware his behaviors had gotten to these levels. We will be seeing that counselor and changing how we do things at home.”

Tony shook his hand when it was offered. “Uh, that’s good to hear. Thank you.”

Mr. Thompson nodded, then looked to Peter. “And I am sorry about your book, Peter. I hope it gets repaired soon. I know it cannot be replaced.”

Tony and Peter both stood in the front office, awkwardly, as Mr. Thompson took Flash home.

“Do you think it will help?” Peter asked after a long minute. “Him getting into trouble like this?”

“No clue,” Tony replied, leading Peter out as well. He had been given the rest of the day off, given what had happened. Peter looked like he could use a break. “It’d better be a wakeup call at least.”

“Mr. Stark! Hold on!”

Peter and Tony both looked over their shoulders to see Mr. Rogers coming down the parking lot. It took him little time to reach them and he wasn’t the slightest out of breath.

“You almost forgot this,” Mr. Rogers said, holding out a book to Peter.

Peter’s whole face lit up and he quickly took it, hugging it to his chest. “Thank you!”

“The librarians just finished. It’s no work of art, but the pages are all there.”

“Thank you,” Tony said, his heart swelling. “I really mean it.”

Mr. Rogers smiled brightly—and wow, was that smile like sunshine. “Of course. Have a good day, you two. See you tomorrow, Peter?”

“Yeah,” Peter said, still holding onto the book like it was a lifeline. “Thank you again, Mr. Rogers.”

“Hey, wait,” Tony said as he fished through his pockets for a moment. He grinned when he found a piece of paper and a pen, then quickly scribbled his phone number down on it. “Here, my direct line. So you don’t have to email me so much or set up so many meetings, even though those are top priority. It’ll be quicker, unless something does need to be formal and all that.”

Mr. Rogers took the paper and blinked a few times. “Sure. That will be fine.”

“Awesome. Thank you again. Hope the rest of the week goes smoothly.”

Mr. Rogers chuckled. “Don’t we all?”

Peter was quiet until they got into the car and the doors were shut.

“You gave Mr. Rogers your phone number.”

Tony quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah, because it’ll be useful for him to have.”

“You were blushing.”

“I was not!”

“Dad, I know I’m dense, but even MJ will agree with me!”

“Now, while I am still in awe of how badass MJ is, that girl is going to take over the world and Pepper will be cheering her on,” Tony said as he pulled out of the drive way. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“You have a crush on my teacher or at least think he’s hot.”

Tony’s mind crashed for a moment.

Peter looked one part smug and two parts grossed out.

“Oh my god. You are twelve! _Twelve_! Where do you get these ideas? Do I need to put parental locks on the internet?”

“JARVIS monitors all my internet activity!”

“Then I’ll—I’ll make a baby gate version for internet! And the television! Books! You will never see people kissing or even holding hands until you’re forty!”

Peter gaped. “I’m not the one who wants to date my teacher!”

“When did we even jump to that?!”

* * *

Pepper was in the penthouse waiting for Tony and Peter to come back home, wanting to see how he was herself. Fights were not unheard of, or even uncommon, in school, but Peter was like the nephew she never had. She wanted to hug him and send an army of lawyers after whoever thought it would be a wise idea to go after him in any way. She wanted them to rue the day they thought they could hurt Peter and reassure him he would always be protected.

When they came back, the two of them were going back and forth with a level of ridiculousness she had never heard before.

“Pepper!” Tony exclaimed. “Light of my life, beacon of logic and intelligence, Tell Peter that I _do not_ have a crush on Mr. Rogers!”

“The children’s television host?” she asked, confused.

“No, my history teacher!” Peter corrected.

Pepper stared at the two of them for a moment. “Peter, why don’t we get some more ice on your lip and I plot some legal revenge, while your father orders some dinner? Your father can crush on your teachers all he wants, but it would be a legal nightmare for them to date.”

“See! I told you!” Tony exclaimed.

“What about after they’re not my teacher anymore?” Peter asked. “Then there’s nothing ethically wrong, right?”

“And then I’ll make my famous hot chocolate,” Pepper continued without missing a beat, leading Peter to the kitchen for the ice. “And we can put your father’s love life on the back burner.”

“Thank you!”

“But—”

Pepper made a mental note to do a background check on this ‘Mr. Rogers’. It seemed that this was an idea that Peter would not let go.


End file.
